Stories about International Relations from March, 2007
Bulgaria, Libya: Tripoli Six in the Economist
The Economist's Edward Lucas reposts his piece on the “Tripoli Six”: “Bulgaria has tried hard to make the scandal an international issue, and has also raised money to help the AIDS-infected children. But Libya appears to want to do a deal, involving freedom for the Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi,...
Eastern Europe: Edward Lucas Roundup
The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his pieces on East European churches; Solzhenitsyn; Chechnya; Poland's relations with other EU members; color revolutions and foreign funding.
Russia: The Turkish Invasion
The Turkish Invasion warns readers of the upcoming Turkish invasion: “This weekend you will have a chance to see, meet (and hate) a lot of Turkish guys in Moscow. It is the annual “Operation White Meat: Assault to Moscow” or MITT (Moscow International Tourism Fair) as the foreigners and sensible...
Arabisc: Rebelling Bloggers from Syria to Tunisia
Ever heard of the rebellious bloggers? Well, this is what some bloggers in the Middle East refer to themselves because they are breaking the norm – speaking their minds on blogs without censorship or editing but paying the price for the consequences of free speech later on. Tunisian blogger Sami...
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome
I cannot believe it has been four years since the Iraq war started. Has it ended? I don't know but it feels more like an a lifetime has passed. In one of the rare coincidences with large parts of the media, Iraq bloggers are commemorating another anniversary of the war....
China: nationalism and Olympic
David Bandurski from China Media Project post a translation of a recent editorial in Southern Metropolis Daily, which argues that China's well-publicized appetite for Olympic gold has become a kind of Midas touch, spoiling the spirit of friendship and harmony that the Games have come to symbolize.
Estonia: Tallinn and Narva
Itching for Eestimaa writes about a day spent in Tallinn (11 comments) and the city of Narva (35 comments).
Costa Rica: Cafta, Point of Discord
Roy Rojas on the intense protests against the Central American Free Trade Agreement in Costa Rica: “what has happened in countries that have ratified the agreement, for example Nicaragua and El Salvador, is that exports to the US have gone up significantly and there has been no loss of employment...
Latin America: Bush vs Chávez
Calling George Bush's visit to Latin America, “a meaningless show”, Robert Borbow sketches a cartoon to show Bush and Hugo Chavez competing for influence in the region.
US, Brazil: Accord on Ethanol
Isabella Kenfield and Roger Burbach argue that “The US-Brazil Accord on Ethanol is good for GDP but very bad for rural poor.”
Bhutan: SAARC rally
Visit Bhutan on the SAARC car rally in Bhutan. “One of the main objectives of the exercise would be to enhance people-to-people contact within the region and increase trade activities among constituent countries which will draw the member countries attention for the need of improving transport infrastructure and encourage tourism,...
Sudan: ICC on War Crimes in Darfur, USS Cole, Funky Hairstyle & More
There has been quite a lot of action in the Sudanese blogosphere during the past 3 weeks. We'll start with the International Criminal Court‘s announcement which named 2 suspects accused of committing war crimes in Darfur. The Sudanese Thinker was surprised when he saw the picture of one of the...
Non-Political Reactions to Bush's Visit to Guatemala
Photo of protesters and police officers by R. Scott Lamorte (More here). Touring this week through Guatemala's blogosphere, it was interesting to read the reactions to President Bush's recent visit, which differed from the usual pronouncements against U.S. policy. Some Bloggers discussed the Hollywoodesque display of security agents, how protests...
Poland: Demography
The beatroot writes: “Poland’s population is shrinking faster than any other country in the EU. Strange that, in a country that claims to be 95 percent Catholic, don’t you think?”
Global Voices en Français Celebrates Journée Mondiale de la Francophonie
Today is Francophonia Day. About 50 French-speaking countries and territories, some belonging to the Organisation Mondiale de la Francophonie and others not, will reflect on what it means to have French as a language –often alongside others. (Not to worry we will tell you what the bloggers said as soon...
Mauritius: give an egg for a bull
Following a friendship gesture on Independence Day from Mauritius to Madascar, Mauritian blogger at My quest for world presidency, Roushdat, writes: “But Madagascar is itself in quite a difficult posture, how will this country help Mauritius? I just couldn’t understand…At first I thought, maybe the government is fed up bestowing...
Caribbean, Zimbabwe: Should Zim be allowed to play int'l cricket?
On the eve of the World Cup match between the West Indies and Zimbabwe, Robert Frische at cricketwukup.com asks whether “in light of the atrocities being committed in that country,” Zimbabwe should be allowed to play international cricket.
Egypt: Meet Abu Omar
Frederik Richter, writing for The Arabist, links to an article which visits the Alexandria home of Islamic clergyman Abu Omar, who was kidnapped by the CIA in Milan and tortured in Egypt.
Lebanon: Saudis Spending Millions to Improve Image
Saudi “businessmen” spend $15 million to fund a US “documentary” film to “improve its image around the world,” writes Lebanese blogger As'ad Abu Khalil here.
Lebanon: In Praise of Condi Rice
Lebanese blogger As'ad Abu Khalil is full of praise for Condoleeza Rice – who just met with a handful of Arab ministers “brief them and grill them with instructions prior to the Arab summit. I thought that this was a very nice gesture that deserves praise. I mean, she did...
Uruguay: “Uncle Sam has left”
Gabo of From Uruguay chronicles Bush's recent visit to Montevideo.
